Drinks, Sweets and Dumping

Dumping syndrome is a condition some people experience after a total (or partial) gastrectomy.  It is caused when food, especially sugar, moves into your small bowel too quickly.  Symptoms of dumping syndrome include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, dizziness and rapid heart rate.

I have been very fortunate.  I have not experienced much dumping.  Actually, in my first year, I didn't have any severe dumping.  There might have been a few times that I had a little, but not really much at all.  I don't know if what I had would even be considered dumping as it was so minor.

Fear of dumping syndrome is one of the reasons I don't do a lot of sweets.  But I have built up to doing them more often, a little at a time, and haven't had any problems....until a couple of weeks ago.  It was the same day as my last post where I drank a whole can of Coke while watching the KU game that afternoon.  I was fine, no issues.  Then that night, I could tell I was going to have trouble getting to sleep, so I decided to have a mixed drink before going to bed.  My go to drink is a fuzzy navel (orange juice and peach schnapps).  Yes, it is sweet, but I've had it before, and I've been fine.  I actually didn't have any orange juice, but had mango juice from my Smoothies.  I've mixed mango juice with peach schnapps before and had no problems.  As I was having the drink this time, I could tell it was starting to bother me.  I didn't finish the drink and went on to bed.  As I was laying in bed, I started having abdominal cramps really bad.  I got up and went to the bathroom.  Went back to bed, still cramping.  I got up again.  This time I was successful in having a bowel movement.  Went back to bed, still cramping.  I was laying there, curled up, in a lot of pain.  Got up and went to the bathroom one more time.  This time I had loose bowels.  After that, I actually felt better.  I was finally able to go back to bed and settle down and eventually go to sleep.  I think that was dumping syndrome.  My first experience with it and I hope my last.  I really don't want to go through that again.

I haven't had my peach schnapps and orange or mango juice again yet since then.  Not sure how long I'll wait before giving it a try.  One of the frustrating things with all this is something that can be fine one day, isn't another day.  You never know.

I did have a celebration with dessert this Friday night.  We had some friends over to play bridge and I made a frozen strawberry yogurt pie (Cool Whip, frozen strawberries, and strawberry yogurt, poured into a graham cracker crust and frozen).  I made it one other time since surgery.  That time I was tempted to eat the whole slice, but made myself stop at half.  This time I made it with Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt.  I figured adding the protein would make it better for me.  It was still yummy and I did eat the whole slice this time.  No dumping.  No regrets.  I felt totally fine afterward.

There are leftovers from the pie in the freezer.  I may just have to go have a slice....